Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in Guadalajara Friday that the war in Iraq is "the fundamental reason" behind the increasing oil price, and it was not the fault of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries(OPEC).

"It is not our fault. The one who sees the problem in such a way is completely wrong," Chavez told the press on his arrival forthe third summit of the European Union (EU), Latin America and theCaribbean countries, held Friday in the west Mexican city of Guadalajara.

The Venezuelan leader underlined that "the ones who are requesting Venezuela or Mexico to contribute to lowering the prices must adjust the complete scenery," he said. "Why don't theyask US President George W. Bush to abandon Iraq?"

The United States thought "they were going to take Iraq like a glass of water" and in five or six months they would recover the oil production. However, they have been unable to control the country, Chavez said.

He said that Bush had to be blamed for the situation in the oilmarket, for he took an "arbitrary, imperialistic and unilateral" decision, disregarding international laws.

It was necessary to maintain the oil price at a fair level because "one of the risks of low prices was that once consumption soared, the destruction of the environment and the ozone layer would be worsened," Chavez argued.

Leaders from the 58 countries attended the one-day summit during which they agreed to criticize the United Sates for the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners.

Source:Xinhua